In the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a low-cost journey to Europe with a travel partner. Since my companion was exploring pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had booked a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a big multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the canteen, where we got some food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with other diners.
Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I explained that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – close to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I ought to seek a role with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, even more importantly, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The man from Iraq came up to me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but right away told my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
As is common in NYC – a place where anything feels possible – she responded: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I can't recall his full name, but his selfless gesture changed my life in multiple respects. I didn't possess the bravery or self-assurance to reach out at an prestigious college and request employment. Moreover, I had always wanted to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York led me to a role in Europe where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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